Survey: “I wish I
had learned more about financials”
Many respondents
wish they had taken the time to learn more about financial products. We are all
very busy and don’t get a chance to learn more about making and keeping money.
And yet, for many, the amount of money we have later makes a big difference in
our lives. I was lucky. After working a few different jobs, including managing
a small health bureau in NYC government, I managed a small operation in a Wall
Street firm. I had a crash course in annuities, mutual funds, and insurance. I
learned about the products brokers and advisors sell to the public. The most
important lesson I learned was which products to
buy and which to avoid. I have put that information into short reads that
most folks can follow and succeed with. Unless you are wealthy and need special
tax advice, I found that the
simple products are best. You can understand them and pay much less than
those products and services with all the fees, commissions and charges my
industry uses to get rich. Pay less; keep more.
Take your discounts: https://www.amazon.com/Insiders-Guides-Discount-Financial-Services/dp/143480593X
Is Impact Investing
right for you?
Social and
environmental focus while you grow your portfolio sounds good. But most
companies you may support are not pure plays. For example, Ben
and Jerry’s was famous for its social and environmental concerns but it is owned by Unilever
of UK which has a questionable
environmental history. Labels such as socially responsible
investing and impact investing are often used synonymously, alongside
other terms like ethical investing and sustainable investing. They usually
refer to a similar idea: Using your investing dollars to make a positive
difference in the world. But my idea of “positive difference” and your idea can
be different. For instance, some investors with particular religious ideas may
invest in companies like Hobby Lobby
since they have a strong religious mission. One of those missions is Museum of
the Bible, a non-profit run by the Green family. Internal staff had warned that
some items bought by the Museum had dubious provenance and were
potentially looted from Iraq. Several shipments
of the artifacts were seized by US customs agents in 2011, triggering
a years-long struggle between Hobby Lobby and the federal government that
culminated in a 2017 civil forfeiture. As a result of the case, Hobby
Lobby agreed to return the artifacts and pay a fine. 3,800 items seized from
Hobby Lobby were returned to
Dream and plan: https://www.amazon.com/Best-Robo-Advisor-Ultimate-Automatic-Management/dp/1537111957
Is a SPAC right for you?
This type of investment is in the news because Trump
is using a Special Purpose Acquisition Company to raise funds for his promised
media firm “Truth Social.” A SPAC is like a reverse IPO—managers raise
funds from investors to speculate on some project in the future depending on
the amounts they raise. A special purpose acquisition company, Digital
World Acquisition Corp, had two hedge fund investments until it announced
it was helping Trump, who was impeached after being accused of inciting the
Jan. 6 attempted coup. At the announcement of the SPAC with Trump’s venture,
its share price zoomed higher. SPACs, also known as blank-check companies, are
created to raise capital from public equity markets and then use that cash to
merge with a private company that has or will have an actual operating
business. Thus the two hedge funds probably profited from the news by selling
ahead of the actually work with Trump. As usual, most
of us were not able to buy and sell at the right time to make a profit without
prior information about this event. We are better off taking Buffett’s
advice.
Follow Buffett’s
advice: https://www.amazon.com/Warren-Buffetts-Vanguard-Funds-Retirement/dp/1496148592
Is a 401k loan a good deal?
Yes, but. 401k money is your money. It may seem like a no-brainer to borrow your own money in a pinch. However, this loan is probably the most expensive loan you will ever take. When you take money from your future nest egg, you are taking giving up one of the most valuable things you own. You can replace the money you take but NOT the time your money is using to grow. Example: $10,000 missing from stock market growth for 30 years can cost you $198,373. That is how much more you would have if you left the $10,000 in a market index fund earning the average 10% per year. Your $10,000 earns dividends and earnings on reinvested dividends. Sure you could tell yourself you will pay the $10,000 back in a year, but few borrowers actually do. Many plans require repayment within 5 years. If you fail to repay there is a penalty plus income taxes. If your employment ends with a loan outstanding, you may have an immediate repayment demand. However, with the pandemic job upheaval, taking the loan was seen a necessary and that loan may never get repaid. Many will just start over when they are employed again. The loss of the time in the market can never be made up.
You may have to work longer. https://www.amazon.com/Your-Plan-Live-Age-100/dp/1548180793
Is your 401k robbing you blind?
If you have been able to continue to contribute to your employer savings plan during this critical time, congratulations. If you have been able to contribute more than the plan’s default savings rate, Double Congratulations. During this bull market, many have been lucky to double their plan balance. A simple low-cost index mutual fund has risen over 16% a year in the last 5-10 years. Others have not done as well because they used the default investment option of their employer. Usually the other options come with higher expense ratios, and thus have not benefited employees as much. Some firms have been sued because the employer options have been poor or compromised. Of course, employees can contribute more in order to gain a higher employer matching amount. However, the low-cost investment option usually provides a higher retirement balance than a higher contribution amount. The BEST strategy would be to pay the least fund and plan fees with the highest employer match. This combo—least cost; maximum contribution; highest match—helps you reach your retirement number faster.
Avoid high fees: https://www.amazon.com/Robbing-You-Blind-401k-fees/dp/1493588966
How you can hurt your credit score and report
Car rental: If you use a debit card, a rental company may check your credit history. Confirm the reservation with your credit card to avoid the unnecessary credit inquiry. Then, settle the final bill with your debit card upon returning the vehicle. Cutting credit card: If you close a credit account, you may raise your credit utilization ratio—percentage of your total being used—which is bad for you. If you use $5,000 of your total credit of 15,000 and then cut one of your other $5,000 cards, your ratio is now 50% not 33%. 30% is better. Missed payment: if you miss a rent or car payment, your delinquency may be reported to the credit bureaus. Disputed bill: if you are not happy with a bill, the vendor can ding your credit for failure to pay on time. Breach a contract: refusing to pay a membership you don’t want gives the company reason to hurt your credit. Unexpected bill: you need to negotiate a payment plan instead of ignoring valid assessments. Apply too many times: each loan or card application is a red flag to creditors. Just because you can apply does not mean you should. Each car dealer will check your credit if you are shopping so shop online first. Use credit wisely so you always have it for emergencies.
https://www.amazon.com/Money-Scams-financial/dp/1505437962
Why do we need to subsidize the billionaires?
Walmart
family members have billionaire legacies from the founder, Sam. And yet, we
Socialism, American style: https://www.amazon.com/Americas-Socialism-Rich-little-people/dp/1535218584
**********ACCOUNTABILITY**************
Like 1776, this
period is a test
of democracy—We
rejected an "American
fascist" once
Our Jan 6 ‘Truth and
Reconciliation Commission’
Extremists: “FBI
Instigation of January 6th”
Frmr
military & police plan gov overthrow
TX attorney general: Biden
overthrew Trump government:
Congress
fails on voter rights
How Govt wastes our money:
One
coal Congressman sends us into climate disaster: last chance before GOP
deniers
VA
GOP promises to keep kids from reading books the GOP doesn’t like:
Trumpists win
One millionaire
decides no wealth taxes: Biden
plan to rebuild US collapse: Fair
share?
Military spending
increase after
Wasted
tax dollars: 4 agencies paid to do ‘intelligence’ failed in
Congress
allows wealthy to avoid IRS tracking large transfers to avoid taxes
Congress allows drug
prices to escalate even more: Our
reps profit from the increases
SCAMS/SPINS:
Save the children: Delta
“plus” variant more transmissible: Stop deaths at 750,000
Children
lower risk of serious illness from COVID, but they are likely to spread
it.
COVID 19 is the sixth leading cause
of death among 5-11-year-olds.
Judge: SW pilots must get vax so airline can make ‘safe
work environment” per contract
BEWARE gov workers/police: they ignore vax mandate: we
assume they have Covid
NYC police die from Covid still resist vax: 60
so far: NYPD workers dead
72%
of unvaccinated workers vow to quit if ordered to get vaccinated
Kyle’s
judge already decided case: victims must be called ‘rioters’ ‘looters’
TX man kills man parked in his driveway: claims
‘self-defense’ as car flees.
Fake
messages to raise hate: prices, guns, Covid vax,
Fake
Covid vaccination certificate purchased so folks can travel: BEWARE
Steven Gallagher OH caught
$1 million pump and dump "old-school boiler" fraud
Trustmark National Bank TN caught
redlining loans Black and Hispanic neighborhoods
Ann Vick CO caught
stole $3.2 million Ponzi scheme promissory notes option tradeing.
Hospitals caught
overcharging routine procedure by label ‘emergency’ $16,221.26 birth
Fast
food may contain plastic: health problems for old and young, reproduction
etc
Employers caught
winning all mandatory arbitration employee
customer grievances
Flooding Earth's orbit with thousands
of new satellites makes your next ride dangerous
HATE maker: Trump
warned on social media that looters in
Weapons
were found in the cars of Jan 6 terrorists: Trump
asked them to stop Congress
Jobs
Scams
on employment opportunities: 16,000 folks claim fraud
Record
number of jobs abandoned: business
earnings skyrocket
Employers
calling back workers they pushed out just a year ago: work for peanuts?
Who owns your account now?
Medicare Advantage: JD Power survey best plans
Post office: cash
paychecks gift card:
Miracles:
Coal burn or Car
idling?: CO2
levels in the atmosphere reach a 3 million-year high
Drought-stricken
California lashed by heavy rains, flooding and mudslides
Vaccine
for breast cancer: trials begin for worst cancer type
We can apply for
Medicare online: https://blog.ssa.gov/apply-for-medicare-online
We can apply for
Social Security online: https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/
We can apply for
health care online: https://www.healthcare.gov/
Wisdom
comes only thru suffering Aeschylus
IAN
41 Watchung Plaza,
B242
973.746.2014
www.InsuranceAdvisorsNetwork.com
Alerts available
at http://dankeppel.blogspot.com/
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